Fairy Dust
by Gina Montier
Summary: Every moon-less night, Natsu's darkest secret comes to life, and every time he does whatever necessary to keep it from Lucy, his wife. However, this night is different. How will that fact threat both of their lives? Nalu one shot.


"Are you okay, Natsu? Do you want something to eat? Dinner's ready you know. I made your favourite…" Pause. "You've been there for hours."

"It's okay Luce," was all she got for an answer. Nothing else was said, and after a while, Natsu heard her sigh, followed by her steps going downstairs.

As soon as his wife left, the pink haired man looked through the window. He felt a heavy weight on his chest, pushing from the inside out, trying to break free. The room was dark, the only light coming from the moon and the stars. The warmth of what he called home felt very distant from the room he was in. Numb, the pain in his chest was something he overlooked- sitting on their bed, all he could do was stare and wait. He watched as the moon rised in the sky, trying to reach its highest peak. In who knew how long- hours, maybe minutes, the moon would fade behind a shadow, giving way to the awaited eclipse.

His hand was shaking slightly on his lap, though he barely noticed. His mind was far away from the farm house where they lived. Up in the sky, focused on every inch the moon advanced, the fear that had been building inside him started to grow and grow, making his body shiver under the warm breeze of summer. The fear of what was coming, fear of what would happen that night- fear of what he'd become, of what could happen to his wife.

The blonde filled his thoughts. For as long as they'd been together, Lucy had never truly seen him like that. Usually a cheerful young man, full of joy and laughter, it would be shocking to see him during those very few nights, when the moon covered and his hand trembled as much as his soul. He guessed she should suspect something, as during every eclipse their bedroom door would be locked, and her husband wouldn't show up until the next morning. However, Natsu really couldn't tell how she felt, as she would never say a word about the matter, nor would she ask.

His heart ached with guilt- eight years and a half, and Natsu hadn't mentioned it once. She deserved to know what her husband was, and yet he never could bring himself to say it. Shame, fear, the possibility of Lucy leaving him was strong in his mind. Who would be with a monster? Eventually he would have to tell her, he knew it. But for the moment, as long as he could protect her of himself, he would leave things as they were.

However, that night felt different for some reason. A strange feeling in his gut, a weird tone covering the moon, an unusual smell in the air. His body felt light, until he suddenly felt something lifting on his back.

The shaking of his hands had turned violent. The weight that a few minutes before had been aggressively quiet, was now pushing harder and harder. Overflowing his head, slightly stabbing, turning into a pain that every minute grew deeper and deeper, until it was unbereable. Darkness was suddenly all he could see, and a buzz, all he could hear. In the sky, the shining moon was barely covered, showing the first stage of what was yet to come.

When the pain started to step back a little, Natsu found himself against the door, a bit more conscious than before. Strange, he thought, as the beast that lived inside him would never let him be in control. He could feel how his enhanced senses got everything around him, from the rough surface of the wooden floor, to every noise that came from downstairs. However, he could only watch and feel, as the control over his body was near to nothing. He felt as if looking through a glass, being himself for the moment, but not entirely. Every action took a lot of effort from him, every movement that wasn't dersired by the beast. He thanked that it only moved to the bed, without attempting something else.

Not for the moment, anyway.

His focus was now downstairs. Natsu could hear it so loud that his head hurt. Lucy's hands baking bread as boredom took over her, their cat's paws scratching against the dinner table, the boiling stew, the fire in the stove. Every moment, every breath, every heartbeat. One, two, three, all at once… Wait, three?

His own heart started to pound faster, the thing purring pleased inside him. Realisation hit him as he heard Lucy humming in the kitchen, and then the sound coming all the way to the stairs. Step by step, he heard her walking towards the room he was in, every second building fear inside him. Lucy shouldn't come in- he couldn't hurt her. He knew he had locked the door, that she would stay outside as every time, that the beast wouldn't try to get out of their little room, nor catch her.

But still, something didn't feel right.

Lucy's trail stopped in front of the door. A knock against the wood, and her hand looking for the handle to open it, as always. Every time she would try, and every time she would fail.

"Nat… su?" she stopped. The door was open.

A first. Panic ran through Natsu's body. How could the door be unlocked? He was sure he had turned the key about three hours before, and not once he had approached to lift the lock. Then how…

As the door opened wider and wider, his mind went back to the blackness that struck him before. The beast must have had unlocked the door -strange, as it had never tried to run before. The light of the hallway illuminated the bedroom as Lucy timidly came in. Her hands held a bowl filled with homemade food.

"Natsu? Are you okay? I was bringing you some dinner when I heard some strange noises and… oh my God."

When her eyes finally caught his figure, her expression transformed into a terrified one. Her knuckles turned white as she held the bowl strongly between her fingers, frozen where she was. Natsu was petrified too- the panic, the shock, the fear. He could feel the beast growling slightly when they saw Lucy under the doorframe.

Natsu suddenly realized how he probably looked like. The first stage of the moon usually didn't do more than enhance his being, but with the fast pace of the ritual, his body would start to change. With a lot of effort, he barely could lift his own hand to see it himself. Expected or not, all he found were now huge fingers and sharp claws.

A shiver ran through him. He could get how terrified Lucy should be- finding a monster in your bedroom, which was at the same time the man you love. Struggling, pushing, demanding, he was able to give a step back and interrupt the growling of the beast to finally find his own voice.

"Luce…" Natsu's voice was hoarse and weak "You have to run. Now."

When she heard his voice, her face suddenly changed. She looked confused and scared, but trying to push it aside to understand the situation. Natsu was as terrified as her, surely more, and yet the situation made him internally smile. He knew she was trying to put everything together, piece by piece, finding an answer.

Lucy's eyes searched his.

"Natsu? Wha… what is this?"

He was about to try to answer when a sudden image filled his head. Two near hartbeats beated as one in front of him. For reasons he didn't know, the beast got particularly interested in this. Natsu suddenly felt hunger, and his eyes grew wide as the monster approached Lucy against his will.

"Lucy! You must run! Get away from here!" he managed to get out in his desperate attempt to stop his own legs. She seemed to doubt for a moment before she stood firm.

"No. I can help you!"

There was no time. He would have thought her stubborness was cute in a normal situation, but given the desperate moment he was in, all he could think was on how to get out of this. Natsu's head hurt, but he didn't stop trying until he finally felt his body respond at his command and his legs to stop walking towars Lucy.

Staring at her blankly, he knew he had no time, that it was just a moment. So without saying a word, he faced the window and jumped, hearing Lucy scream.

"Wait! Natsu! I can help!"

He ran without aim, trying to get as far from the house as he could, ignoring Lucy's calls, his name cutting through the wind. Although it was too much to ask, he wished that Lucy stayed home.

The monster fiercely fought for control over his legs, trying to make he stop, to turn back, yet Natsu's will was stronger. Hope filled his heart, and newfound energy helped him run faster. As long as the moon wasn't fully covered, he could fight for his own body. And so, he kept running.

However, the eclipse was developing, slowly but surely. He was changing, burning, exploding. Light burnt his back as skin was replaced with harsh scales of a red brighter than fire itself. Pain flowed throughout his whole body as the wind hit hardly against his face and tall grass cut his legs. The beast pushed harder and harder, trying to give way to the horrendous demon beneath him, taking away his humanity like an invisible thief. Natsu's time was running out. And, despite knowing this, all he had in his mind was to run faster, get as far as he could. Far from home and far from Lucy.

In the distance, the sillhouete of a building trimmed against the darkness of the sky. Natsu's quick eyes traced the structure from afar, praying for the barn's door to be open for him to hide. His legs hurt, and tiredness started to take over him. Unlike moments earlier, Natsu felt completely drained. The brightness of the moon retreated more as he reached the barn's doorframe and so, unable to run anymore, he got inside.

His eyes felt heavy and his entire body ached. Barely able to walk, he let himself fall on top of a pile of hay. His conscience was slowly fading, his sight was blurred and his body was no longer under his control -neither under the beast's, surprisingly. Useless, his hand hanging loose next to him, his fingers pathetically touching the soft floor. He was pathetic, unable to fight anymore, waiting for his fate to come and strike once more, hoping for the sun to not take longer than it should. He had to come back home, go back to the warmness that filled his soul- his wife's hugs after coming back from work. that heartbeat ever-lasting.

The heartbeat. The monster started to growl low, excited. Pleading for Natsu's body to move. Go find Lucy…

Suddenly, he felt more awake, despite his body not answering at all. Lucy. She might be looking for him, still shouting his name. A groan escaped his lips, unpleased with himself. He wasn't far enough, nor he would ever be. He should have run more. But his legs hurt and his mind flew, knowing that even if he wanted to, he couldn't run longer. He could have never made it.

"I'm pathetic…"

The final and brightest traces of moonlight came through the tall window of the barn, the eclipse almost complete. There was no more time. The final touches were approaching -tail showing, horns growing. And as the light started to vanish, his mind, at last, faded as well, giving into the darkness.

A door was shut.

The thud startled the man, violently dragging him out of his dreams. Quick steps, heavy panting, soft hands. Pink, the petticoat's cloth gently kissing his skin under Lucy's weight. Her face was filled with horror and concern, and her mumbling was incomprehensible. His name was all Natsu caught out of her self-talking - which she always did when she was nervous. Happy as if he was drunk, he wanted to smile, but was greeted instead with the awful feeling of not being able to. Outside, the moon was fully dark, being the barn completely under the shadows.

Lucy's hands flew all over his body, desperated to do something for him. A growl began in Natsu's chest, slightly threatening her and catching her attention. The man watched as Lucy turned to face him, her expression harsh and firm, as if daring the beast to say something.

"Shut up, I'm trying to help," she said, and kept on working.

Natsu had no idea what she was doing, but his concern was somewhere else. The growl had been growing since her last words, building up hatred, feeding the bloodlust the beast always held. The pink-haired man was startled once again with an extra pounding sounding somewhere near, and the feeling inside him started to grow. Panicking, Natsu felt as if he was going to pass out- Lucy was in danger, and he couldn't even tell her to back off.

However, deep down in his fire, something else was mixing up with the rage. A soft feeling, as if a song was going on inside him. His eyes darted slowly over to Lucy, hoping to find something, and to his utter surprise, her lips curled in a soft pout, a humming coming out of her throat. Natsu's eyes grew wider, surprised to identify her singing as a low lullaby, noticing how the beast's inside grew and loosened at the pace of the song.

The Lullaby seemed to peace the monster, a soft smile escaping Lucy's lips in a tiny victory. This went on until a few minutes later, when the growling began again as soon as the sound was caught by Natsu and the creature's ears once more. A beat, that is, which made the monster go mad again. But this time, no humming would calm him down, as Natsu's body sat straight and looked at Lucy with murderous eyes.

When she noticed his stare, Lucy jumped back and got distance between them both. But of course, that wouldn't stop the monster at all. Natsu felt lighter the weight on his conscience, as if the creature's prescence was fading. In spite of this, their body kept moving. The panic that the man felt moments before just grew and grew as Lucy's back hit against the barn's wooden wall. No escape. The blonde seemed to quickly realize it, her eyes widening as the demon kept walking towards her, nonstop.

"N-Natsu… Stop… I know you're still there…"

He wanted to tell her it wasn't him the one acting, that he was there for her even when she couldn't see him, tell her he couldn't stop, that he couldn't fight this anymore.

"The dust…" she said as she fell, her back against the wall and her hands covering her face. "… it's not quick enough…"

Dust? What was she talking about? He wanted to ask, but all that came out was a growl. He could see her body trembling with fear as the monster was just inches away from her.

"You never hurt me before… In this state…"

Her right hand moved slowly away from her face, showing her usual soft smile again. Natu's mind couldn't even process it as her hand flew all the way to her belly, touching it slightly.

"But i know why you are trying now. And I guess you know too."

His claws dangerously approached Lucy's figure. Natsu could feel his heart pouding faster, wishing with all his might for the monster to stop. And his call might have reached his own body, because that demonic hand that he hated so much only reached for her hair and gently moved some locks of hair, revealing her face.

She was crying.

"And so I've been saving this for a long time now. Remember mom?"

Something cracked inside him. A little light coming to his mind. The other hand that was still covering her face went to her left hip and pulled out a tiny flask. The contained substance glittered slightly but not much, given the lack of light. Natsu hadn't even noticed, immerse in his wife's speech, but his body had stopped moving. Lucy suddenly looked right into his eyes. Tears strained her cheeks, but not traces of fear at all.

"I knew what you were from the very first eclipse. And when I told her, she gave me this. This is Fairy Dust."

So that was what she was doing. She knew. And she tried to help him. His chest felt lighter a moment after, and as adding to his surprise, his whole body started to shine slightly.

A growl sounded deep inside his being. The monster was suddenly desperate, hungry. The hands that moments before had stopped were now moving slowly. Natsu's fear grew. The claw was going straight forward, towards Lucy's belly. And yet, she didn't dart her gaze.

"She told me you wouldn't hurt me, but to keep it just in case. I think she referred to this moment as that case. I know… I know you wouldn't forgive yourself. So I can't let you hurt me. _Us._ So I need your help Natsu."

She took his face, taking the monster by surprise, stopping him from touching her.

 _"I need you to wake up."_

And as Lucy's voice echoed in the grim silence of the barn, those few words seemed to do just right. Natsu's hands dropped by his side and his entire body started to ache. A momentary glitter covered his skin and a few seconds later, all his demonic features retreated. His scales, his tail, his claws… Freedom was his as the dust took away the unwelcomed being and left a normal man behind.

When it stopped, he felt as if completely drained of all force. Without being able to help it, he fell forward, being stopped only by Lucy's tiny hands. Quickly, her arms embraced him, and his shoulder felt wet moments later.

Her voice was faint. "No more secrets, okay?"

"It's a promise, Luce," he said, and hugged her with what was left of his energy.

After that, all they knew was each other's presence, and they didn't need anything else. They remained there for minutes, maybe hours, until the sun started to show and the eclipse was long since finished. They really couldn't tell, nor care. When it was long since her tears had dried and his trembling had stopped, they let go of each other, and their gazes finally met.

"Luce. There's one more secret."

"Huh? What's that?"

The man stood up and reached a hand to help Lucy do the same. After that, he slightly touched her belly, his hand covering it gently. She looked at him stunned, but smiling, and so, he grinned at her.

"Did you know we were waiting?"

She laughed and took his hand without a word and turned around, guiding him outside. They walked home through the tall grass that now shined under the sun's light.

"Of course I do, stupid, that was the whole deal," she laughed softly, tears in her eyes, and squeezed his hand. "Now, let's go home."

The man smiled brightly at his wife. Her golden hair was being gently moving by the wind, her smile as bright as the sun itself, her soft hands holding his. And remembering all she had done for him, and all she would, he promised he would never be as helpless as that night. For her.

"Yosh!"


End file.
